You probably know what it feels like to run on empty for a few weeks. Life gets busy, sleep gets short, and the body sends small signals that are easy to blame on stress or getting older.
Some of those signals, in a smaller group of adults, are the opening of type 1 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association says that when an adult develops type 1, they are often mistakenly told they have type 2 instead.
That mistake matters. Type 1 means the body has stopped making its own insulin, and insulin is the only treatment. The CDC notes that untreated diabetes can lead to very serious health problems.
Across all forms of diabetes, about 1 in 4 American adults with the disease do not know they have it, according to the CDC's national diabetes statistics report.
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The 8 warning signs most adults overlook
The classic symptoms, per the CDC and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, are:
- feeling very thirsty
- urinating more than usual
- unexplained weight loss, even when you are eating more
- extreme fatigue
- blurred vision
- cuts or sores that are slow to heal
- frequent infections, such as urinary tract or skin infections
- nausea, stomach pain or vomiting
Any one of these on its own is easy to shrug off. Several of them creeping in together, over a few weeks, is the pattern worth taking seriously.
Why adults with type 1 get missed
In children, type 1 usually hits hard and fast. Blood sugar climbs over days, and the diagnosis arrives in a matter of weeks.
In adults, the picture is slower. The NIDDK notes that in some adults, type 1 symptoms may develop gradually and start to look more like type 2 diabetes.
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That slow burn is where misdiagnosis happens. The ADA adds that adults with the usual type 2 risk factors are especially likely to be sorted into the wrong box. Those factors include being overweight, over 35, having high blood pressure or living a sedentary life.
When symptoms turn into an emergency
If type 1 goes undiagnosed long enough, blood sugar can tip into diabetic ketoacidosis, known as DKA. That is the body burning fat for fuel because it has almost no insulin, and acids build up in the blood.
The NIDDK describes DKA warning signs as fruity-smelling breath, trouble breathing, nausea or vomiting, stomach pain and feeling very tired. It is a hospital-level emergency.
The simple blood test that sorts it out
A standard blood sugar test confirms diabetes but does not say which type. For that, doctors can order a C-peptide test, which measures how much insulin the pancreas is still making. Low levels point to type 1.
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Antibody tests can add further proof by picking up the immune markers that attack insulin-producing cells.
When to see a doctor
If several of the eight signs above have crept in over the past few weeks, especially heavy thirst, frequent urination and unexplained weight loss, book a doctor's visit soon. Ask whether type 1 should be ruled out, not just type 2.
If fruity breath, vomiting or trouble breathing appear alongside them, go to urgent care or the emergency room the same day.
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This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.